Folk art motifs on the painted plates of Kim So Sun

In our contemporary world, where art is commissioned for anything from airplanes to automobiles, the transposition of 17th-century Korean folk art to modern porcelain dishes should not prove too surprising. In a wonderful burst of innovation, artistKim So Sun has borrowed from the rich folk art tradition of Yi Dynasty Korea (1392-1910, also called the Choson Dynasty). Her exhibition of "Korean Folk Art Imprinted on Porcelain," on display Oct. 2-6 at the gallery of the Korean Cultural Service of the Korean Embassy, provides a rare glimpse into the world of traditional folk art and culture of Korea.

The exhibition consists of 81 works of art. The artist's "canvas" is beautifully simple, white porcelain plates. A graduate of the University of Seoul's Department of Sculpture, the artist is drawn to recurring themes of the Korean folk art world, including felicitous images of tigers and magpies, flowers and birds, and the animals of the zodiac.

The everyday use of white porcelain in Korea dates back to the 17th century. Common porcelain ware was typically painted with cobalt, iron or copper, borrowing art motifs from contemporaneous folk art paintings. The teachings of Confucianism, officially adopted as a state ideology during the Yi Dynasty, paralleled attempts to simplify art by using simple colors. Along with this trend toward simplicity came the rejection of polychromatic designs, especially in decorated porcelain. Unlike their neighbors in China and Japan, Yi Dynasty Korean potters did not create colorful porcelain.